Hiruzen felt a wave of relief when Itachi voiced his support.
But Kaede only looked at Itachi with deeper disdain.
"That's it?"
"And this guy's praised daily for having the 'mind of a Hokage'?"
"You really are a complete and utter idiot, Itachi."
Kaede's sneer and blunt insult made Itachi's face go pale.
Kaede continued coldly:
"You seriously think Kumogakure was targeting the Hyūga for their Byakugan?"
"Don't forget—they were the ones who proposed peace talks."
"During the Third War, the Third Raikage was killed by Iwagakure, and their other battlefields were all defeats. They suffered enormous losses."
"They stalemated with us for two years—their finances were on the brink."
"Provoking the Hyūga was just a probe to gauge Konoha's strength, so they could position themselves in the upcoming negotiations."
"And how did Hiruzen respond?"
"He showed them—clear as day—that Konoha didn't want to fight anymore. That whatever conditions they demanded would be met so long as peace was maintained!"
"That's the truth. And you, Itachi, dare to call that peace? Do you even realize what kind of price Konoha paid for that kind of peace?"
"He and those elders—just like you—are nothing but fools!"
Those who had begun wavering due to Itachi's words suddenly had a moment of clarity.
There was a deeper layer to all of this?
Most of them weren't from clan backgrounds; no one had taught them political nuance.
So they listened to whoever sounded the most convincing.
And Kaede's words had just ripped off the mask of so-called 'peace', exposing the bloody truth beneath.
Now they understood—and they were angry.
Even Itachi stood there shaken, questioning everything.
This so-called 'Hokage mindset'—was it just arrogance?
He was only thirteen. He thought his beliefs were right, absolute.
So now, faced with reality, it felt like the sky was falling in on him.
Hiashi had been silently observing everything.
Now that the truth was out in the open, a bitter smile played on his lips.
So this was what they had spent decades protecting?
Slaving away for fools like Hiruzen?
What was the point…
The other great clans of Konoha remained silent too.
They had long seen through this farce.
But so what?
Hiruzen had ruled for decades. The village had long become a one-party state run by him and the elders.
They hadn't known about tonight's events.
Who could have imagined Hiruzen would go so far?
To order the extermination of one of the founding clans of Konoha?
If not for Kaede, they would have succeeded.
And after that, who would be next?
These clans felt a chill run down their spines and mentally cut all ties with Hiruzen.
Tonight, they would not lift a finger.
So long as the foundation of Konoha wasn't shaken, they would use Kaede as a blade to shatter the myth of Hiruzen in the minds of the people.
Which was exactly Kaede's goal.
With just a few words, he shattered Hiruzen's strongest shield.
When it came to manipulating people, Kaede had plenty of experience from his previous life.
Ninja society, for all its years of progress, was still feudal in nature.
Only a handful of people were truly capable of seeing beyond the times they lived in.
…
Hiruzen stood there, shoulders slumped.
Fight back?
He couldn't muster the will.
Kaede's earlier slash had shattered his resolve.
But he couldn't let Kaede keep talking either!
Hiruzen glared at him and hissed, "Kaede, leave. Let's just say the Uchiha never existed in Konoha."
"…You joking?" Kaede narrowed his eyes.
"Or are you just scared of what I'll say next? Your subordinates seem very interested in the truth."
Hiruzen froze.
He could feel the accusatory stares behind him.
Kaede no longer paid him any mind.
"Now, where was I before that fool interrupted me?"
He had no intention of letting Hiruzen off so easily.
He wanted all of Konoha to feel nothing but satisfaction at Hiruzen's death.
He wanted the people to believe he deserved it.
He wanted the villagers themselves to tear down the man they once worshipped as Hokage.
That was the true punishment.
But under Kaede's crushing pressure, no one dared speak up.
So he casually pointed his sword toward a random Hyūga shinobi.
"You, speak."
The chosen man was startled but stammered, "Y-You were talking about… Orochimaru's defection…"
He pretended to be nervous, but in truth, he was playing along.
He was from the branch family and had been close to Hizashi. He now held great respect for Kaede.
Even if Kaede's motives weren't pure, the fact remained—he had vindicated the branch family.
Kaede smiled. "Ah, right. That's where I left off."
The man chuckled awkwardly and stepped back, knowing full well this could be considered treason.
But no one blamed him.
Everyone wanted to hear what Kaede had to say.
Kaede continued with a smirk:
"Very few people in Konoha know the real reason Orochimaru defected. Only upper-ranking jōnin at best."
"The truth is—Orochimaru was conducting horrific human experiments in secret."
"And those experiments? The test subjects were infants and children he stole from Konoha families."
Gasps spread like wildfire.
This time, Kaede made sure to amplify his voice across the entire village.
Even civilians unaware of what was happening were shaken by the sudden announcement.
Among them were parents who had lost their children during that time—some had gone missing, others had died under mysterious circumstances.
Now, to learn that their beloved children may have been experiments?
And the one responsible?
A disciple of the Third Hokage, the one they respected the most?
"Orochimaru defected for this?!"
"How could the Third's own student do something like that?!"
"Now that I think of it… didn't we lose like seventy or eighty kids back then?!"
"Probably more. What if all those 'accidental deaths' were faked too?!"
…
Konoha wasn't a small village—but it wasn't so big that people didn't know each other.
Everyone had a story from that time.
Everyone had a friend or neighbor who'd lost a child.
They'd all assumed it was due to Konoha's weakened state after the Fourth Hokage died—that it had drawn in criminals.
But now… now they realized the real criminal had been in their midst all along.
The one behind it all had been right under their noses.
The ordinary shinobi, thanks to their training, managed to keep their composure—barely.
But even the higher-ranking jōnin, who had already known the truth, couldn't suppress their rage hearing it spoken aloud again.
And the civilians—hearing this for the first time—were on the verge of collapse.
(End of Chapter)
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